A weight plate having a detachable locking cartridge by which the weight plate is releasably connected to a lifting element (e.g., a center post) whereby one or more weight plates carried by the lifting element may be lifted by a user. The weight plate also has a plate body with a central bore in which to receive the lifting element. In one embodiment, the detachable locking cartridge is mounted flush against one side (e.g., the bottom) of the weight plate body so as to lie entirely external to the plate body. In an alternate embodiment, the detachable locking cartridge includes a stabilizer extension that is received within a cavity recessed in the one side of the plate body. The detachable locking cartridge includes a manually-accessible toggle lever switch arm that is adapted to rotate within a housing of the cartridge between locked and unlocked positions to thereby control the displacement of a locking pin relative to the lifting element within the central bore of the plate body.
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1. A weight plate to be releasably attached to a weight plate lifting element of physical fitness weight lifting equipment, said weight plate comprising:
a plate body having a hole formed therein for receipt of the weight plate lifting element;
an external locking cartridge located entirely outside said plate body, said locking cartridge detachably connected to one side of said plate body; and
a locking pin sliding reciprocally through each of said external locking cartridge and said plate body so as to be displaced relative to the hole in said plate body,
said external locking cartridge including a housing, a pivot located within said housing, and a pivotal lever switch arm that is connected to said pivot and coupled to said locking pin within said housing, said pivotal lever switch arm being surrounded by and projecting outside said housing at which to receive a force so that said pivotal lever switch arm rotates within said housing at said pivot and moves within said housing between an on position for causing said locking pin to slide in a first direction into the hole in said plate body at which to be attached to the weight plate lifting element and an off position for causing said locking pin to slide in an opposite direction out of the hole in said plate body so as to be detached from the weight plate lifting element.
11. A weight plate to be releasably attached to a weight plate lifting element of physical fitness weight lifting equipment, said weight plate comprising:
a plate body having a hole formed therein for receipt of the weight plate lifting element, a cavity formed in one side of said plate body, and a stud hole formed in said cavity;
a locking cartridge having a first portion lying flush against the one side of said plate body and a second portion received inwardly of the cavity in said one side, said locking cartridge also having an anchor stud projecting therefrom for receipt by the stud hole formed in the cavity of said plate body;
at least one fastener removably attached to the one side of said plate body by way of the first portion of said locking cartridge by which said locking cartridge is detachably connected to said plate body; and
a locking pin disposed in perpendicular alignment with the one side of said plate body, said locking pin sliding reciprocally through each of said locking cartridge and said plate body so as to be displaced relative to the hole in said plate body,
said locking cartridge including a pivot and a pivotal lever switch arm that is connected to said pivot and coupled to said locking pin within said detachable locking cartridge, said pivotal lever switch arm being surrounded by and projecting outside said locking cartridge at which to receive a force so that said pivotal lever switch arm rotates at said pivot and moves within said locking cartridge between an on position for causing said locking pin to slide in a first direction into the hole in said plate body at which to be attached to the weight plate lifting element and an off position for causing said locking pin to slide in an opposite direction out of the hole in said plate body so as to be detached from the weight plate lifting element.
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a weight plate of the kind common to physical fitness weight lifting equipment to be coupled to a lifting element (e.g., a center post) of such equipment and lifted during a body building exercise. The weight plate includes a detachable locking cartridge having a manually-controlled locking pin that slides reciprocally through the plate body so that the weight plate can be either positively attached to or separated from the lifting element.
2. Background Art
My co-pending patent application Ser. No. 11/349,101 filed Feb. 8, 2006 discloses a weight plate that is associated with weight lifting equipment by which the weight plate or a stack of weight plates can be lifted during a body building exercise. This weight plate includes a plate body and a locking cartridge connected to the plate body. The displacement of a locking pin through the weight plate body is controlled by a manually-accessible toggle lever arm that is located within the locking cartridge and coupled to the locking pin. When the toggle lever arm is rotated to an on or locked position, the locking pin is correspondingly caused to slide in a first direction through the plate body to engage a connection union mounted in an adjacent weight plate. When the toggle lever arm is rotated to an off or unlocked position, the locking in is caused to slide in an opposite direction through the plate body to be disengaged from the connection union.
It would be advantageous to be able to detachably connect the locking cartridge to the plate body of a weight plate. In this manner, the locking cartridge can be attached to a conventional plate body so that the weight plate can be selectively and reliably attached to a lifting element of the weight lifting equipment so as to be lifted with a stack of similarly-attached weight plates during a body building exercise.
In general terms, a weight plate is disclosed that is common to certain physical fitness weight lifting equipment in which one or a stack of weight plates are lifted during a body building exercise. The weight plate includes a plate body having a central bore and a pair of side bores formed therethrough. The central bore through the plate body is sized to receive a lifting element (e.g., the center post) from the weight lifting equipment, and the side bores are sized to receive respective stabilizing guide bars from the equipment.
In accordance with the present improvement, a locking cartridge is detachably connected to the plate body so that the weight plate can be releasably attached to the lifting element of the weight lifting equipment. The center post is tied to a cable to which a pulling force is applied to cause the lifting element and the weight plates carried thereby to be lifted during the body building exercise. In a first preferred embodiment, the detachable locking cartridge is mounted against one side of the plate body so as to lie entirely external to the plate body. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the detachable locking cartridge is removably received within an internal cavity formed in one side of the plate body. In this regard, a pair of fasteners (e.g., screws) extend through the detachable locking cartridge by which the locking cartridge may be removably connected to the plate body. An anchor stud projecting from the locking cartridge is received in an opposing stud hole formed in the plate body to prevent the locking cartridge from sliding over the plate body. Thus, the detachable locking cartridge can be connected to a conventional plate body to enable the weight plate to be attached to the lifting element.
To this end, the locking cartridge includes a housing and a manually-operated toggle lever switch arm that is adapted to rotate within the housing between on and off positions. A locking pin is slidable reciprocally through a locking channel of the locking cartridge and an axially-aligned guide channel of the plate body so as to be displaced relative to the center hole of the plate body. The locking pin is disposed in perpendicular alignment with the side of the plate body to which the locking cartridge is detachably connected. One end of the toggle lever switch arm is manually accessible outside the housing of the locking cartridge to receive a rotational force applied by a user, and the opposite end of the switch arm is coupled to the locking pin so that a rotation of the switch arm results in a linear displacement of the locking pin relative to the center hole of the plate body. More particularly, when the toggle lever switch arm is rotated to the on position, the locking pin is correspondingly displaced in a first direction through the locking and guide channels so as to slide into the center hole in the plate body at which to be attached to the lifting element of the weight lifting apparatus. When the switch arm is rotated to the off position, the locking pin is displaced in an opposite direction so as to slide out of the center hole to be detached from the lifting element.
Referring initially to
The central bore 5 through the body 3 of weight plate 1 is sized to receive therethrough a lifting element (e.g., a center post designated 34 in
Lying entirely outside and lying flush against one side (e.g., the bottom) 9 of the plate body 3 is an external locking cartridge 10. Fasteners (e.g., facial screws) 8 extend through opposite ends of a housing 11 of the external locking cartridge 10 whereby the cartridge is detachably connected to the side 9 of the plate body 3. Thus, an independent external locking cartridge 10 can be connected to a conventional weight plate commonly used during body building exercises to obtain the benefits of this invention. In this same regard, by removing fasteners 8, the external locking cartridge 10 may be advantageously removed and replaced when necessary. An anchor stud 12 projects downwardly from approximately the middle of the housing 11 of locking cartridge 10 for receipt by an opposing locating hole that is formed in the side 9 of the plate body 3. By virtue of the anchor stud 12, the external locking cartridge 10 will be automatically positioned against side 9 to facilitate the reciprocal sliding displacement of an internal (e.g., steel) locking pin 14 through each of the locking cartridge 10 and the weight plate body 3 for a purpose that will soon be described. Moreover, the anchor stud 12 prevents the locking cartridge 10 from shifting along the side 9 to which it is connected.
More particularly, the internal locking pin 14 is slidable relative to the central bore 5 in plate body 3 so as to be displaced through a locking channel 15 in the housing 11 of locking cartridge 10 and an axially-aligned guide channel 17 in plate body 3. As best shown in
The rotatable toggle lever switch arm 20 inside locking cartridge housing 11 includes upper and lower arm members 22 and 24 that are aligned with one another to make an angle of approximately 90 degrees. One end of the upper arm member 22 of toggle lever switch arm 20 extends through the guide slot 18 in the locking cartridge 10 to be attached to the manually-accessible switch control knob 16. One end of the lower arm member 24 of switch arm 20 includes a relatively wide switch head 26 that is positioned in and captured by a bore 27 that is formed near the top of the locking pin 14, whereby a rotation of the switch control knob 16 results in a linear displacement of the locking pin 14 relative to the central bore 5 of plate body 3. The adjacent opposite ends of the upper and lower arm members 22 and 24 of lever arm 20 are coextensively joined to one another at an elbow 28. A swage pin 30 runs laterally through the housing 11 of locking cartridge 10 and the elbow 28 to establish a pivot axis around which the toggle lever switch arm 20 will rotate in response to a rotational force applied by a user to the control knob 16.
In operation, the switch control knob 16 can be manually manipulated (i.e., rotated) between an unlocked position (of
In particular, with the switch control knob 16 rotated to the unlocked position of
In the case where the weight plate 1 is added to the stack of weight plates to increase the total weight of the stack to be lifted, the switch control knob 16 is rotated to the locked position of
One end of a (e.g., coil) spring 32, or the like, is connected to the lower arm member 22 of the toggle lever switch arm 20, and an opposite end of spring 32 is connected to the housing 11 of the locking cartridge 10. The spring 32 urges the switch arm 20 to either one of the unlocked or locked positions along the guide slot 18 so as to avoid an indefinite, intermediate position therebetween.
It may be appreciated that the toggle lever switch arm 20 that rotates within the housing 11 of the external locking cartridge 10 performs the function of a mechanical switch. That is to say, the switch control knob 16 is rotated between the unlocked (off) and locked (on) positions of
The external locking cartridge 10 of
Like the locking cartridge 10 of
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